Anyone out there with agoraphobia, I need some advise about my situation, I am having a very hard time.?!
Question: Anyone out there with agoraphobia, I need some advise about my situation, I am having a very hard time..?
Hello My name is Amy. I just moved to TX from OR. Before I left Oregon I went to see my doctor for a routine checkup. I told him that at the age of 12 I was diagnosed with generalised anxiety disorder and was put on paxil for it. I had not had a panic attack for a very long time, I am now 22 so about ten years living anxiety and panic attack free! He wanted to ween me off of my paxil because he thought that whatever caused them when I was younger I should have been over by now and I should get off the meds. He weened me off little by little and I was fine until he got me down to about 5 mg every other day, by the way I started on 20 mg. I was driving home from work one day and had a major panic attack on the freeway and almost got into a major accident with a big rig! I went to my Doctor and told him what had happened and he told me he was going to put me back on the paxil. He put me back on 20 mg and said it may take a couple weeks to kick back in. Two weeks go by and I am still having major panic attacks, I couldn't drive the freeway anymore so I was taking the back roads to work! So I go back, he says he is going to up my dose to 40mg, and it should work. Well it got better for a while, but I switched doctors because of the way he was treating me ( like a nut job). My fiance's job offered him a journeyman position through his work and it was an offer he couldn't refuse, and the paxil was working ok at the, not like it was but I figured it may take a while to take full effect. Now i am down in Texas and my paxil is not working, I think when that doctor weened me off the paxil my body built up an ammunity or something. I have no insurance, no doctor, I have called county mental help and they say my condition is not sever enough for me to qualify, and I can't get private insurance because my pre existing medical condition, and my fiance and I are not married so I am not able to go on his insurance, and I am not rich and can't pay for a psychiatrist out of pocket! I am getting to the point where I can't go a five mile radius away from my home without freaking out! And in december, we aqre leaving to the next job and going on the freeway is unbearable, I will have a heart attack! I don't know what to do, don't know who to turn to, I am so depressed because I can't leave my home, I have no one except for my fiance down here, and he doesnt understand, hes supportive but does not get what im going through! Is there anyone out there can help me, advice, anything I dont know what to do! I am sorry for the novel long story but I wanted everybody to understand my perdicament!Health Question & Answer
Answers:
Coming off paxil can be traumatic and cause panic attacks. It wear off after a while, but by that point you may have relearnt the panic habit.
Its was a good idea to go back on them as they are particulary good for panic attacks but you have it in your head that freeways=panic.
For a one off journey on the freeway a tranquiliser would help you get to your new home but using those more than once or twice a month would be bad as they are VERY addictive.
The best choice would be to stay on the paxil and face your fear in a gradual way, maybe go out on a freeway you know and do one junction or so, then the next day two and so on, just to relearn that freeways dont cause panic attacks. Its going to be hard and you may even panic again, but grit your teeth and get through it!
You won't have a heart attack. Fear cannot kill you. It sure feels like it at times i know.
You have to start now to sort yourself out, you know you can beat the panic attacks (you did for 10 years, right!)
drop me a mail if you need more adviceHealth Question & Answer
Its was a good idea to go back on them as they are particulary good for panic attacks but you have it in your head that freeways=panic.
For a one off journey on the freeway a tranquiliser would help you get to your new home but using those more than once or twice a month would be bad as they are VERY addictive.
The best choice would be to stay on the paxil and face your fear in a gradual way, maybe go out on a freeway you know and do one junction or so, then the next day two and so on, just to relearn that freeways dont cause panic attacks. Its going to be hard and you may even panic again, but grit your teeth and get through it!
You won't have a heart attack. Fear cannot kill you. It sure feels like it at times i know.
You have to start now to sort yourself out, you know you can beat the panic attacks (you did for 10 years, right!)
drop me a mail if you need more adviceHealth Question & Answer
Stop medications.Start learning meditations and spiritual, this way you will become stronger than ever, if your boyfriend off to work overseas, just let him go with sincerety, though not near but your heart is with him.That is the power of "now" and "love".Please practiceHealth Question & Answer
I suffer the same problem - When you go out always plan your route, take a mobile phone and emergency contact number or better still take someone with you. In my experience medications don't work. Have you taken a close look at your diet, exercise, and sleep patterns. I guarantee the root of the problem will lie there.Health Question & Answer
Hi, I just think you need to get over this invented disease.. sorry, I mean this pharmaceutical manufactured ailment and get out more.
300 yrs ago, (with exception to a few historical figures), do you think people had time to sit around worring about this or were they actually trying to survive.?
Btw- you can't really be diagnosed with anxiety disorder by a medical practitioner (at least not in my country) because it isn't actually a recognised medical condition, it's bundled under phobia & treated as such. A head shrink will give it all sorts of official sounding names. the solution is simple - don't drive. You're a danger to yourself and others. Public transport. Youre a victim of pill popping cultureHealth Question & Answer
300 yrs ago, (with exception to a few historical figures), do you think people had time to sit around worring about this or were they actually trying to survive.?
Btw- you can't really be diagnosed with anxiety disorder by a medical practitioner (at least not in my country) because it isn't actually a recognised medical condition, it's bundled under phobia & treated as such. A head shrink will give it all sorts of official sounding names. the solution is simple - don't drive. You're a danger to yourself and others. Public transport. Youre a victim of pill popping cultureHealth Question & Answer
While you're traveling wear a headset and listen to music or motivational tapes, and wear an eye cover like the kind you get to sleep in. You will block out the visual stress trigger and the music will block out the audio stress trigger. It's what I had to do when I moved to Oklahoma because my fear is bridges and drop-offs.
You also might go to the County Free Clinic and see a doctor there
Good luck.Health Question & Answer
You also might go to the County Free Clinic and see a doctor there
Good luck.Health Question & Answer
I used to be the exact same way, and I've been on Effexor 150mg ever since I was 12. Now THAT is a huge dose. I'll never go off of it. You'll have to bury me with those pills! It changed my entire life and I am so happy.
It was actually the Effexor and a combination of my mother. You need someone to literally push you past your comfort zone. Every time I freaked out and had an absolute fit there was one person that stood by and pushed me even further, regardless of the tears and me thinking I was going to die... then gradually, I began to learn that nothing was going to happen. I was going to be okay no matter where I was. That I was going to live a normal life, and that there were other people out there like me.
Someone that sits there and babies you and supports your condition is, quite literally, contributing to your self destruction.
And, for the girl that answered above me, it's a proven fact that medicine works... maybe you didn't have a high enough dosage, or some issue with it, but I'm walking proof it works. I love my Effexor and there's no price I wouldn't pay for happiness. =)
Good luck with your anxiety. Just know-- that you're not the only one that feels the way you do, because many people feel that way, and that you CAN get through it.Health Question & Answer
It was actually the Effexor and a combination of my mother. You need someone to literally push you past your comfort zone. Every time I freaked out and had an absolute fit there was one person that stood by and pushed me even further, regardless of the tears and me thinking I was going to die... then gradually, I began to learn that nothing was going to happen. I was going to be okay no matter where I was. That I was going to live a normal life, and that there were other people out there like me.
Someone that sits there and babies you and supports your condition is, quite literally, contributing to your self destruction.
And, for the girl that answered above me, it's a proven fact that medicine works... maybe you didn't have a high enough dosage, or some issue with it, but I'm walking proof it works. I love my Effexor and there's no price I wouldn't pay for happiness. =)
Good luck with your anxiety. Just know-- that you're not the only one that feels the way you do, because many people feel that way, and that you CAN get through it.Health Question & Answer